


i'll never stop thinking (about you)

by makx



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-03
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2020-04-06 13:03:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19063261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makx/pseuds/makx
Summary: A collection of short(ish) one-shots, based on short dialogue prompts.





	1. "this is your fault"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I haven't posted in a while, but I've decided to start doing so again using these short dialogue prompts I saw on tumblr! I can't promise regular updates but I'm determined to get at least a few stories out under this series.

The last place Tobin wanted to be at half past five on a stormy Monday afternoon was a way too brightly lit empty waiting room. But her aching leg had led her directly there, and she knew it was for the best.

Her first season back at soccer since high school was going well for the past three months, and she was quickly finding her A-game, nutmegging the opposition, crossing perfect balls in, and scoring the odd goal. But the latest game she played, left her with a painfully sore hamstring, and an awkward walking gait.

She’d heard the pop in her leg as she'd desperately tried keeping up with the forward who was storming down her wing, and if she was being honest, the girl made her last game a living hell. The girl was good, too good for their lowly fifth division, and too good for even her own team.

She could still remember the way the forward took on her team as if they were just play things, her dark brown hair flowing behind her like the dust of opponents she left behind.

Even Tobin was no match for the girl, and Tobin still considered herself reasonably good at soccer even after not playing for ten years.

But now, a day on from that fateful game, she was reminded of the fact she just wasn't as good nor indestructible as she might've been in her youth. Her aching hamstring a reminder of exactly that as she sat at her local physio hoping for a miracle.

Her usual physiotherapist was completely booked out, but the receptionist managed to slot her in last minute with another physiotherapist at the clinic who specialised in sports physiotherapy, unlike her usual.

Tobin looked down at her leg again and tapped at the skin, annoyed at how it had let her down for the first time all season.

“Tobin?”

Tobin looked up towards the voice calling her name.

_No fucking way._

“You’re.. Chris..Christen?” Tobin stumbled out, eyes wide as the girl who had just called her name looked at her expectantly.

“It sure is. That's me.” The girl said pointing at herself with both thumbs and giving a bright smile.

Her physiotherapist was the same girl.

The same girl with the dark brown hair.

The same girl who tormented her team and scored four goals on them the day before.

The same girl who she’d had a foot race with and lost to, pulling her hamstring in the process.

The same girl who was the last person she ever wanted to see.

“If you just follow me..” Christen trailed off seemingly unphased by Tobin’s attitude as she walked off towards the room directly across from Tobin’s seat.

Dumbfounded and lost for words, Tobin followed the brunette into her assessment room.

The room was the same simple setup as every other room in the clinic— brightly lit, assessment table on the left, desk on the right and a couple seats in front of it that Tobin knew she was expected to take a seat at. But she couldn’t take a seat. Not when the very reason for her being at the clinic was walking towards the table across the room.

She still couldn’t believe it.

Closing the door behind her, Tobin stood at the door, watching as Christen sat down behind her desk and readied her fingers on the keyboard in front of her. Christen looked up towards where Tobin stood by the closed door, her eyebrows drawing together at the sight in front of her, confusion lining her forehead.

“This is your fault. You did this to me!” Tobin blurted out, knowing full well how much she sounded like an unreasonable toddler.

“Excuse me?” The brunette laughed, seemingly not particularly offended by the accusation.

“My hamstring. I pulled it. Yesterday, you were.. I was tracking you, and you were too fast and I couldn’t keep up, and I pulled it.” Tobin said, frustrated by the fact that Christen had just laughed at her.

Christen tapped at her lips with her fingers, deep in thought.

“The Wanderers?” Christen asked after a pause, recognition flickering across her face.

“Yes. We’re The Wanderers, and you, caused this.” Tobin said dramatically pointing at her leg with both hands.

Tobin knew how idiotic her accusation sounded, but it didn’t mean she was going to stop. She was pissed off that the girl won almost every one on one with her during the game, and she was even more annoyed at the fact she could barely walk or sit properly with her messed up hamstring.

She wanted to blame something or someone. Christen was the easiest target.

“Ah.. yes, I remember you. You’re pretty quick, yourself. Pretty skillful and… fiesty.” Christen nodded, a smile playing on her lips. “Come, take a seat, Tobin.” Christen offered softly, gesturing towards the seat beside her desk.

Tobin slowly obliged, walking slowly towards the seat and gingerly sitting down.

“So you think you strained your hamstring?”

“It's like for sure strained. It hurts when I walk, sit, pick things up, bend over… the whole shebang.”

“And you’re blaming me for.. this?” Christen asked biting her lip, seemingly slightly amused.

Tobin could see the girl was trying to remain professional and straight faced, but there was a pull on the side of her lips that Tobin could see was threatening to become a smirk.

“.. Yes.” Tobin replied, narrowing her eyes unamused.

“Alright. Well I’m sorry about your hamstring, truly, but unfortunately I don’t think I can take the blame for this… it was just an unfortunate event that happened to occur as we were playing against one another.”

Tobin rolled her eyes.

Tobin knew the girl wasn’t wrong, but Tobin wasn't in the mood to be reasonable.

“Okay, would you like to tell me where it hurts?” Christen asked.

The first part of the assessment had Tobin explaining the pain, and attempting to bend on her left leg without falling over, and the second part had Tobin lying face down on the examination table.

“I’m just going to rub some oil on your hamstring and see how it is, and you let me know if anything hurts too much and if it does, we’ll stop. Okay?”

Tobin grumbled out an affirmative tone and Christen began rubbing her hands with the some oil.

The next five minutes had Tobin in pain as Christen massaged deep into her hamstring.

But it was the kind of pain Tobin knew she would be thankful for.

It also felt good, in a strange way.

Christen had magical fingers and palms and elbows.

She honestly didn’t want the massage to end.

“You okay there, champ?” Christen asked as she massaged her way up Tobin’s hamstring,

“Yup.” Tobin squeaked out, biting her lip, eyes slamming shut at a particularly deep massage.

“So, have you been playing soccer long?” Christen asked, interrupting the silence that had fallen since Tobin had climbed onto the table.

“I used to play, ages ago in high school. But I only got back into it this year, so I’m a bit rusty.”

“Wow, I never would’ve guessed you took a break. You’re so darn good out there. It’s like the ball was made for your feet.” Christen replied, astonishment evident in her raised tone.

Tobin let out a light laugh, appreciating the compliment. "Yeah, I love messing around with a soccer ball whenever I can. Like I know for technicality's sake I'm single but like legit I have and always will be in a relationship with soccer.” Tobin paused. "Soccer's kinda become my one and only love."

“I get what you mean.” Christen replied with an understanding tone.

“What about you? You’re too good for division five, why aren’t you in the premier league?” Tobin asked, curiosity getting the better of her as her bitterness towards the girl slowly subsided.

Christen hummed at the question, firstly replying with a deep elbow into Tobin’s leg.

“Well, my sisters asked me to join their team after I stopped playing professionally and it’s just fun to play rec. Everyone still has the same love for the game, and it’s fun to be a part of that.”

Tobin listened to the words with gritted teeth, the massage was starting to get the better of her.

“Wait.. wait! Did you just say you played professionally?” Tobin asked eyebrows raised as she almost pushed herself up to turn and look at the girl.

“Yeah I used to, but did you know there’s more money in physiotherapy than soccer? Wild, huh.” She laughed in response. Tobin could tell by the tone of her voice, Christen didn’t really want to elaborate, so didn’t push the topic further.

“Okay, I’m all done here.” Christen said wiping off the oil from Tobin’s leg. “I’ll tape you up and you can be on your way.”

Tobin gingerly sat up on the table, dangling her legs.

“How long will I..” Tobin fumbled out nervously. She didn’t want to ask the question, too afraid of what the response would be.

“How long will you be out for?” Christen said finishing Tobin’s sentence. “Two to six weeks, I imagine.” She replied apologetically.

“Fuck.”

“Hey no swearing in here, it’s a family friendly room, this.” Christen stated, not actually seeming particularly offended in the slightest that she swore.

“Sorry, it’s just. Ugh. It’s annoying, you know?”

“I get it, Tobin. I totally get it. But once we’ve rehabbed you and you’ve strengthened your hammy, you’ll be better than ever. I promise.”

“And then I’ll be able to shut you down in a foot race?” Tobin beamed, standing up from the table.

“Hm.. I can’t promise you that one pal.” Christen grinned in return, directing Tobin to the middle of the room. “Okay, just stand here and bend over forwards, so we can stretch that hamstring.”

Tobin did as she was told, whilst Christen got the KT Tape ready.

“We’ll be playing again later in the season, right?” Tobin started, watching as Christen sat on the floor behind her, readying the tape. “I guess we can put it to the test then.”

“Only if you’re healed up. We don’t want you pushing that hamstring.” Christen replied sternly, applying the first piece of tape.

“Okay well I’m gonna heal up quickly so the next time we play I’ll beat you in a foot race.” Tobin repeated, as she watched Christen add more tape to her leg.

“That means no soccer, no strenuous exercise, and sticking to the regime I’ve set for you.” Christen stated firmly, throwing the plastic backing into the bin. “Okay, we’re done.”

“Fine by me!” Tobin said standing up, ready for the challenge set.

“Good, we’ll see you back here on Thursday, and then we’ll take it from there, yeah?” Christen grinned.

“Yes ma’am.” Tobin responded, smoothing down her shorts and walking towards the door.

“Ma’am? Please, we’re like the same age.” Christen said rolling her eyes.

“You’re 29?” Tobin asked, surprised, hand pausing on the door handle. She might have called her ‘ _ma’am_ ’ but she didn’t figure Christen was older than 25.

“Almost, I’m 29 in December.” Christen nodded affirmatively.

“Wow, well you look good.” Tobin began, eyebrows scrunching. “I mean, for like your age, you look good for 28. You look younger!” Tobin stumbled out, suddenly realising how her words could’ve been interpreted. She didn’t want to sound like she was coming onto her physiotherapist.

“Oh, I know.” Christen smirked taking a seat behind her desk. “See you on Thursday, Tobin.” She winked as she looked towards her computer screen and began typing.

Tobin walked out of the room, red-faced.

Was Christen just flirting with her?

No.

No, why would she be flirting with her. That’s unprofessional. From everything she saw of Christen, she was all for being professional.

She was just being.. charismatic. Yes, charismatic was what she was being.

“Another appointment?” The receptionist asked, interrupting her thoughts.

After making her next booking with Christen and leaving the clinic, if she could have had a spring in her step she would’ve, unfortunately her hamstring pull had made that a bit harder to achieve. Instead she settled with a warm feeling swirling deep in her stomach.

As the reality of the situation began dawning of her over course of the week, Tobin couldn’t help but feel annoyed at herself again. Soccer was all she thought about. Practicing, watching, playing. She woke up thinking about soccer and went through the day being reminded of the sport which had become a healthy yet unhealthy obsession over the past year.

Not being able to play for at least two weeks really sucked. It almost knocked her into a dark place.

But every time she remembered that at her next appointment Christen might be able to work some magic on her leg and help fix her hamstring, it was like a little sliver of light in the depressing thoughts that swirled around her mind.

Thursday rolled around much faster than she expected, and she was back in the same brightly lit waiting room, a bit less annoyed at the brightness and a whole lot more excited to see Christen again. Not that she’d admit it to the girl. She was still bitter it was their footrace that resulted in her strain.

“Hey champ, come inside.” Christen smiled as she walked out of her office to greet Tobin.

“How’s it going?” The brunette asked as she sat at her computer chair and Tobin slowly took a seat in front of her.

“It.. still hurts, whether I’m standing or sitting. But I’m able to do the bridge exercise at a further distance so at least there’s that.”

“That’s definitely good, Tobin. And has the pain moved at all? Or does it feel like it’s in the same place, up at the sit bone?”

“Yeah, it’s still up there.” Tobin sighed.

“That’s okay, Tobin. We’re still making progress. Now..” Christen paused. “You’re gonna tell me you have shorts on under those pants right?” She asked, with raised eyebrows.

“Yes ma’am.” Tobin said standing up and pulling off her sweatpants. “I mean it wouldn’t be so bad if I didn’t though, right?” Tobin asked, raising an amused eyebrow.

“Well.. sometimes.. did you know, people.. men coming in for hamstring or groin strains forget to wear anything under their pants, not even underwear.”

“Yikes..”

“I mean that’s technically optimal for me, as it’s easy to work with the least amount of clothing, but it’s often not ideal for the patient, and to be honest, my eyes.” Christen laughed lightly.

“Ew gross, naked guys. That would be an eyesore.” Tobin groaned.

“Tell me about it.” Christen smirked.

Tobin’s brain took Christen’s words and she could hear the wheels turn inside her head.

_Was that way of her saying she’s not into naked men? That’s she’s not straight? That she prefers naked women? Is she into women?_

Christen quickly distracted Tobin from her internal monologue as they went through her second appointment in a similar fashion— massaging her leg and re-taping.

“I’m hoping to be back playing in three weeks. That’s my goal.”

“That’s a good goal.” Christen nodded and then paused as she took a seat at her desk. “Is that when our teams play each other again?”

“Yup.” Tobin grinned, eyes crinkling. Christen just shook her head, faux-unamused.

“Keep doing the exercises I showed you, keep icing at night and heating in the morning and you might be able to get there. But just remember to not push it. We want you back out there but not if you’re just going to pull your hamstring again.”

“Got it, boss.” Tobin grinned, happily seeing Christen’s eyes roll. “I’ll see you on Wednesday!”

The days felt like they passed by faster and faster between appointments.

She still felt the odd bout of depressive thoughts enter her mind every time she was reminded that she couldn’t play, but she managed to distract herself by working overtime and getting back into painting. But Tobin could feel herself getting excited for the next trip to the physio as the appointment date neared, ready to boast about how well her team was doing in the division and try prove that her hamstring was starting to heal properly.

“Man, you have magic fingers.” Tobin mumbled out as Christen worked into her upper thigh.

“You’re not the first one to tell me that.” Christen laughed, continuing to work the deep massage into the leg.

“Really, now?” Tobin asked, raising an eyebrow Christen wouldn’t have been able to see, but in a suggestive tone that she was sure Christen could hear.

Christen tutted. “I mean that in a purely professional sense. It’s my job to give massages, you know, to promote blood flow and reduce tension.”

“Sure, Christen.”

“Sure, Tobin.”

Their next appointment was a Tuesday, and Tobin walked into Christen’s room ready to laugh.

“I can’t believe your team lost against The Rangers. They are literally at the bottom of the division.”

“Hello to you too, Tobin.” Christen huffed, obviously frustrated by the reminder of her weekend game.

“Sorry, I just.. can’t believe it. Good on them though.”

“Is saying we were playing with nine players a good enough excuse?”

“They might as well be playing with nine players themselves with how poorly they play.”

“You’re very kind to your opponents.”

“But not as kind as I am to you.”

"I'm honoured."

Tobin’s hamstring was feeling better day by day. She could feel the pain slowly subside and her awkward walking gait was becoming slightly less noticeable. She could feel the improvement and she was sure Christen could too.

“You’re coming along well, especially from when I first saw you.” Christen noted as she dug her palms into Tobin’s leg.

“Gotta be fit and ready to play your team in a weeks time. You know, priorities.”

“Well.. whatever works for you, champ.” Christen replied, smile more than evident in her voice as she wiped off the oil on Tobin’s leg. “But..” Christen began, walking around to Tobin’s head and leaning in close to her ear, “I can guarantee you, you still won’t beat me in a footrace.” She chuckled, walking away and wiping her oiled hands down with some tissues.

Tobin lay still on the table, stunned by what had just happened. She’d felt a shiver go up her spine as Christen breathed over her ear, and since then her mind had just become a jumbled mess, unable to function properly.

“Come on, let’s get some new tape on you.” The words knocked Tobin out of her shocked state, and she managed to somehow compose herself enough to hop off the table.

As the week progressed, Tobin realised two things— she no longer felt the pestering pain in her leg. Firstly— she could walk and sit for long periods of time without feeling much if any pain. And secondly, the very thought of Christen was leaving her with butterflies, which she was desperately trying to control.

As suggested by Christen, she had jogged and sprinted on the following Monday, testing out her hamstring and it's limit. It felt absolutely freeing to jog, to finally move at a speed her body had been dying to go for a month. She felt about ninety-five percent better. She knew it wouldn't take long to feel a hundred percent soon.

The realisation that her physio appointments were about to come to and end however left her feeling bittersweet.

She was grateful she likely didn’t need many or any more appointments, and more than grateful her hamstring was almost back to normal. But the fact she might not see her new favourite physio, with the complementing sassy attitude, piercingly beautiful grey-green eyes, charismatic charm, and the ability to work magic deep into her muscles, left her feeling a bit saddened.

Tobin’s nerves began settling in prior to her potentially last appointment with Christen. She knew she had to be able to prove that she’d definitely healed up to the extent she was game-ready, so she could have the chance to take on Christen’s team once again the following Sunday.  

“I have some good news and some bad news for you, champ.” Christen began, as she dug her fingers into Tobin’s hamstring like she’d done every session.

The statement immediately stilled Tobin.

 _Bad news?_ _Was she about to tell her that her hamstring didn’t seem like it was ready for a game?_

“The good news is, I don’t see why you can’t play this Sunday. The tightness has definitely dissipated, and you’re no longer feeling much pain, which is great. I’d definitely recommend making sure you’d manage your minutes and just take it easy.”

With those words, Tobin exhaled a huge sigh of relief. That was what she was hoping to hear. If she hadn’t heard the clearance from Christen, she might’ve still played anyway, but knowing her physio had cleared her, made her feel a lot more confident for Sunday’s game.

“Really? Dope!” Tobin nodded, pumping a fist in the air. “Wait, if that’s the good news, what’s the bad news?” Tobin asked, a lot more intrigued.

“The bad news is..” Christen took a dramatic pause, stilling her hands on Tobin’s thighs, “you’re still not going to be able to shut me down in a footrace.” Christen deadpanned, but quickly broke out into a laugh.

“Oh, Ms Press, we shall see about that.”

“Oh we will.” Christen breathed out, running her hand down Tobin’s left leg lightly and tapping it playfully on her calf.

Tobin almost jumped at the contact. Christen had never done that before. It completely threw her off and left her feeling electrified.

Shaking off all her thoughts, Tobin chastised herself for feeling how she was. She was a twenty nine year old who could manage her feelings, not a nervous trainwreck of a teenager who'd never been touched before.

“Does that mean this is my last session?” Tobin asked finally finding her voice as she sat back upright on the table once Christen had wiped off the excess oil.

“If you want to, we can definitely have another session after the game, but that is entirely up to you, especially if it will give you some extra piece of mind." Christen told her.

Tobin hummed in response.

"Honestly though Tobin, you’re well on your way to completely recovering, and from my point of view you shouldn't need to have another appointment unless you personally would like one. So really it's up to you.”

“Cool.” Tobin said, attempting to seem unphased and nonchalant.

After showing Tobin some exercises to strengthen her hamstrings and glutes, and taping her up once again, Tobin sat back down on the seat by Christen's desk, watching as she tapped some notes into the computer.

“Thanks for uhh.. all your help over the past weeks. You even managed to make yourself the new highlight of my week.” Tobin said genuinely. “Even if you were the cause of all of this.”

“You’re never going to let that one go are you, Tobin Heath.” Christen said rolling her eyes.

“Just stating the facts here, Chris.” Tobin said matter-of-factly.

“From that line of thinking, it sounds like you think I did it all on purpose.” Christen replied exasperatedly, raising her hands. “I purposefully made you strain your hamstring so you’d come and make an appointment with me.”

Tobin laughed, enjoying the amusing line of thinking. “And why would you have wanted to do that?”

“I don’t know, you're the one who implied it." Christen replied chuckling to herself. "But just say it was true…" Christen started, tapping at the desk, meeting her green-grey eyes with Tobin's, "it would've been ‘cause after seeing you play I found you interesting, talented and cute so I just wanted to get to know you a bit better.” Christen winked, looking back towards her monitor.

Tobin’s jaw went slack. Okay surely Christen was flirting with her now.

Tobin briefly debated whether or not to ask if Christen meant what she had just said. All the compliments that had rolled off of her tongue.. had sounded a lot like flirting. However she felt like she was on her back foot— unsure of what was transpiring between the two and never sure what was flirting or just inside of her head. Christen carried charisma on her like a magic dust, sprinkling the effects on unsuspecting people at unsuspecting times. Tobin knew she was that unsuspecting person, but she was falling for the charm.

Christen wrinkled her nose and turned back to Tobin after the awkward pause the ensued following her comment. "Trust me though, there are easier ways to get to know someone than trying to make them strain something.”

“No shit.” Tobin said, finally finding her voice again.

“Language, Tobin. Family friendly room, remember.” Christen reminded her with an obviously faux-serious look.

“Don’t be afraid to book another appointment if you change your mind after the game though, okay?” Christen said, moving the topic along as if she hadn't just been flirting with Tobin.

"Yup." Tobin nodded standing up and walking towards the door. She placed her hand on the door handle and turned back towards Christen. "I'll see you on Sunday though, boss."

"I guess you will," Christen smiled, "just be ready to lose again."

Tobin loved how cocky the girl was, but she wasn't going to take it.

"Oh that ain't happening this time around." Tobin grinned.

She was sure of herself and her team.

The feeling of lacing up her boots for the first time in a month was absolutely exhilarating. She'd missed it so badly. She missed playing with her teammates so badly.

Playing felt better than she remembered. The ball moved how she wanted it to and her movement on and off the ball were as if she'd never taken a break.

Christen was right however, or half right.

There was no fucking way Tobin would ever beat Christen in a footrace. The girl was lightning quick. She moved so quickly it was as if she wasn’t actually human. Tobin did manage to shut her down on shorter dribbles but for the most part, there was no way she could keep up.

Where Christen was wrong was the belief that her team would win against Tobin's again.

The game finished with 3-3.

Unsurprisingly, Christen scored all three goals for her team.

"How's your hammy, Tobin?" Christen asked as she approached her for a handshake.

Tobin ignored the hand and went in for a hug. "Christen Press, it feels amazing. Tired but amazing, thank you. Thank you, thank you."

The hug lasted longer than Tobin was expecting, Christen holding as firm as Tobin was.

"So, no more appointments?" Christen asked, finally pulling back, a large grin gracing her face. Tobin couldn't get over how beautiful Christen looked at that very moment, she looked ethereal, with bright shining eyes and a winning smile.

"I think I should be good." Tobin nodded, returning the smile and attempting not to get lost in Christen’s eyes.

"You sure?" Christen asked, her tone somewhat more serious as she checked with Tobin one more time.

"I'm pretty sure." She nodded.

"Cool, so.." Christen began, a shy smile growing on her lips, "in that case as I'm no longer professionally obligated to you.. I guess I can finally ask if you'd like to get a coffee or hang out in a place that isn't my office some time?"

Tobin's eyebrows shot up.

_Did Christen just ask her out?_

"Uh yeah, that'd be cool, yeah! I'd be down for that." Tobin beamed, eyes crinkling.

"Are you doing anything today?"

"Today?!"

"Yeah, like this afternoon."

"I mean I gotta get home and shower."

"I live down the street, why don't you come over for a shower and I'll give you some clothes to change into."

"Okay, yeah sure if you’re cool with that. How about we meet at the gate in fifteen?" Tobin said nodding towards the entryway of the field.

"See you then, champ!" Christen grinned. “Oh and..” Christen began, pulling Tobin in for another hug, her lips close to Tobin’s ear, “just so you know, unlike my office, my apartment isn’t always family friendly.”

With that, Christen pulled away from Tobin with a wink, and walked by the rest of Tobin’s team— shaking hands and donning her widest smile, leaving Tobin standing, gaping at Christen’s choice of words and possible innuendo.

 


	2. "do you trust me?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a minute and it's a super strange time at the moment, so I thought I'd finally go through and edit/post the chapter that I've been sitting on for close to a year now (as a bit of distraction for both you and me).

Christen never really did the whole house party thing. At least not the loud ragey ones where you’d have to shout louder than the music to hear anyone you’re trying to converse with. She’d endured them through college, and had promised herself, never again, afterwards. 

She’d managed to stick by her promise for a whole three years.. until she was invited to her colleague’s house party. 

She’d figured that considering everyone at her work had moved on from college and were well into their twenties if not much older, a house party as an ‘adult’ was different to that of your average frat house party.

Christen had realised her mistake too late. Bottle of wine in one hand, coat in the other, and a respectful shirt and semi-casual slack combo adorning her figure, Kelley had opened the door to a confused Christen and had yanked her into her house with the biggest grin.

Kelley’s house parties were _exactly_ the same ones you’d encounter at college.

Christen did her best to remember how exactly she survived through previous parties— mingling just enough to look like she was trying, and sticking close to the kitchen to get _refills_.

An hour into the party she was tempted to leave, and she almost did if she hadn’t bumped into Kelley as she pulled her coat on by the front door.

“Are you leaving?” Kelley had asked her with a drunk pout.

Feeling a bit bad about the fact that a. she was leaving after only an hour, b. Kelley, her new colleague and friend was pouting at her— Christen decided to throw Kelley a lie about needing some fresh air. To which Kelley had just laughed in her drunk manner and had told her to try the backyard, as it was _“a bit nicer and a bit less dodgy than the street”_.

So that’s what Christen decided to do and how she found herself stepping into Kelley’s backyard, thinking about how she would next find a way out of the party. 

To be honest though, even if she hadn't technically left the party, she was grateful for the solitude. 

The silence. 

Time with her own thoughts.

Christen closed her eyes and breathed in the brisk air, her overloaded senses almost immediately resetting. 

The winter brought out fireplaces and wood burners, and she could smell the smoke of charred wood as she relaxed into her isolation.

She was pretty sure there wasn’t anything more beautiful than a still night. 

She opened her eyes again— her eyes slowly making their way skywards, towards the stars scattered across the surprisingly dark cloudless and smogless sky. 

She’d always had an affinity with the stars. She found nothing but beauty in not only how they lit up the sky, but their entire existence, their place in the universe. Christen couldn't help but smile. 

“Beautiful, aren’t they?” 

Christen jumped at the words.

The words came from somewhere from out in the darkness. She couldn’t tell where.

Her fight or flight instincts immediately kicked in, senses back on overdrive as she whipped her head left and right to identify the source of the voice. 

But she saw nothing, no one.

“Sorry, I’m up here.” The same voice called out with a slight laugh. The voice sounded feminine, with a slight drawl to it. 

Christen looked around into the darkness, still not sure where to look until a light appeared from above on her left, illuminating the face of a person.. a girl? She couldn’t have been much older than herself. 

The figure was reclining on the neighbouring house’s roof, lazily waving her phone left and right with its torch on.

“Hey!” The girl called out, turning off her phone’s light and pocketing the item once she knew Christen had spotted her. The moonlight was providing just enough light for Christen to see the outline of the girl. 

“Oh hi, sorry you just startled me.” Christen breathed out with a sigh of relief as she forcibly steadied her heart rate.

“My bad.” The girl called out scratching at her neck seemingly somewhat embarrassed.

“It’s fine, don’t worry I just.. wasn’t expecting anyone to be out here.” Christen offered lightly. She paused for a moment. “May I just ask why you’re out here or well.. up there?”

“Oh, uh, the stars!” The girl offered simply. “They look dope from here. On clear nights I just like sitting outside and looking at them.” Christen didn’t need a torch nor the barely there light of the moon to know the girl was grinning. She could hear the excitement in her voice.

“How’s that any different to being on the ground looking at them?” Christen queried. Surely it wasn’t that safe sitting on the roof.

“Well I’m closer to the stars for starters.” The girl said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“By like what? A whole 10 feet.” Christen scoffed.

“You know it! Also..” the girl paused, “sometimes you get to see some pretty stars walking around your neighbour’s garden from here. Can’t see that on the ground behind a fence.” 

Christen was grateful it was dark because her whole face flushed at the compliment, corny as it sounded. She was going to blame the alcohol for that one.

“Stars can’t walk.” Christen said simply, recovering quickly.

“Oh the star I’m looking at now for sure can. It also talks, smiles and is pretty nice on the eyes too.”

Christen just rolled her eyes. “Are you just up there so you can try awful pick up lines on unsuspecting strangers.”

“Nah just cute ones who like running out of parties held by the infamous Kelley O’Hara.”

“Infamous?” Christen chose to ignore the rest of the sentence, there was no point trying to either correct her about why she was out there (although the girl was correct) nor ask her to stop with the unnecessary _compliments_.

“Well.. yeah. I gotta put up with that noise every other week, and it goes well into the night too.” Tobin offered. “Infamous.”

“True, that’s fair enough.” 

“Wanna come up?” The girl nonchalantly asked.

“What?”

“Wanna join me up here? There’s plenty of space for ya if you want?”

“Sure, and slip off your roof and plunge to my death. No thanks.” Christen laughed rolling her eyes again.

“Nah, honest it’s real dope up here. Look I’ll even help you up.” The girl said, pushing herself up onto her feet and walking to the edge of the roof closest to the fence between them. “Just climb up the fence and I’ll pull you over.” 

Christen stood looking at the now offered hand, dumbfounded. Wasn’t it somewhat presumptive that this girl would assume she’d join a complete stranger on their roof?

“Come on.” The girl grinned waving her offered hand around. “Do you trust me?”

Christen laughed a genuine laugh. “I don’t even know your name or who you are, and you’re asking me if I trust you?!".

“Um yeah.” The girl shrugged. Probably figuring she hadn't provided the correct response from Christen's resulting silence, she continued. “Fine hi, I'm Tobin. Kelley's next door neighbour and long time friend. Happy?”

Christen pursed her lips. “How come you're not at her party if she's your friend?”

The girl sighed, retracting her hand and crouching. “I used to go to them, like years ago but I just eventually realised it wasn't my thing, so I stopped going.” Tobin shrugged. “She always invites me every time anyway, but I think she does it these days to just give me a heads up she's having a party and to not expect sleep until.. pretty late.” She paused huffing. “Anyway, you know my name, do I get to know yours?”

“I'm Christen, I work with Kelley in marketing.”

“Sweet. Well.. seeing as we're no longer strangers, why don't you come up? Limited time offer. Only for tonight.” Tobin smiled softly, offering out her left hand again.

Christen paused, weighing her options up. She still didn't know Tobin, but stargazing with company felt like an inviting option at that particular moment. 

 _“What the hell.”_ Christen muttered under her breath, finally throwing caution to the wind and maneuvering herself around bushes and closer towards Tobin. 

Christen found the footholes in the fence easily— it was as if it had been scaled before. She wasn’t surprised if that was the case.

Christen took Tobin's hand once she reached the top of the fence, and was yanked up and onto the tiles.

She quickly found her footing in front of Tobin and steadied herself, finally giving her a chance to look at the girl clearly for the first time. Mere minutes ago, Tobin was basic outlines and shadows where Christen could barely make out any facial features. But now, only a couple feet apart, Christen found herself blushing. 

The girl was really.. really good looking. She took in her features, or as much as she could see with the moonlight and additional faint street light. Her big smile, her soft eyes, the way her tousled hair fell over her right shoulder. She was wearing a t-shirt even in the falling temperature, and a hoodie was wrapped across her chest as if only there to serve aesthetic purposes considering how cold it was. She couldn't help but let her eyes linger on the girl before her. She oozed nothing but the cool charming calmness of what Christen knew she could never be.

“You okay?” The girl asked, her eyebrows drawing together as she looked into Christen's eyes genuinely concerned.

“Uh, yeah, yeah, I'm good.” Christen nodded, tearing her eyes away from Tobin.

“You just look a bit flushed from that climb.” Tobin said, gesturing at Christen's face.

The statement made Christen blush further and stare at her own feet. “No, I'm alright, honest.”

Tobin slowly nodded as if she only half believed the response. 

Hoping to distract Tobin from her line of questioning, Christen changed the topic back. “Anyway you promised me the best view of the stars.. anywhere up here in particular?” Christen asked, playing into her new acquaintance's previous excitement.

Tobin grinned and nodded enthusiastically as she led Christen slightly further onto the roof and gestured to one spot in particular.

They made themselves as comfortable as they could on the roof, lying next to each other and looking skyward.

“Man what a difference ten feet makes!” Christen exclaimed dramatically after a moment.

“Really?!” Tobin replied in surprise, sitting up to look at Christen.

“No, you stargazing nerd. It looks exactly the same.” Christen laughed lightly, swatting at Tobin.

“Oh.” She heard slight disappointment in Tobin's voice as the girl lay back down on the roof.

“But if it makes you feel any better,” Christen began, turning her head to look at Tobin. “I think I can see a star pretty clearly in front of me now.” Christen smirked.

‘Oh, yeah?” The girl whispered, turning her head to face Christen.

“Yeah, the brightest star outside tonight.”

They both grinned as they stared at each other, bathed in the moonlight and a feeling of newfound fondness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Take care of yourselves out there! Stay at home, we'll get through this, fam!  
> I have another chapter in the works (it's mostly complete tbh) that I'm hoping to post shortly.  
> 

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to drop a comment here or on tumblr (makxfics) and let me know what you think :)


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